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The Rich Man and Lazarus The Rich Man and Lazarus Taken from: ‘A Few Sighs from Hell; or, The Groans of a Damned Soul’ By John Bunyan The Rich Man and Lazarus John Bunyan “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom” Luke 16:23. Our Lord doth show in this verse, partly what doth and shall befall the reprobate, after this life is ended, where he saith, “And in hell he lift up his eyes.” That is, the ungodly, after they depart this life, do lift up their eyes in hell. From these words may be observed these things. First, that there is a Hell for souls to be tormented in, when this life is ended. Mark, after he was dead and buried, “In hell he lift up his eyes.” Second, that all that are ungodly, and do live and die in their sins, so soon as ever they die, they go into Hell. He died, and was buried, “And in hell he lift up his eyes.” Third, that some are fast asleep, and so secure in their sins, that they scarce know well where they are till they come into Hell, and that I gather from these words, “In hell he lift up his eyes.” He was asleep before, but hell makes him lift up his eyes. First, As I said before, it is evident there is an hell for souls (yea, and bodies too) to be tormented in after they depart this life, as is clear; first, because the Lord Jesus Christ, that cannot lie, did say, that after the sinner was dead and buried, “In hell he lift up his eyes.” Now, if it be objected, that by hell is here meant the grave, that I plainly deny: 1. Because there the body is not sensible of torment or ease; but in that hell into which the spirits of the damned depart, they are sensible of torment, and would very willingly be free from it, to enjoy ease, which they are sensible of the want of; as is clearly discovered in this parable, “Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue.” 2. It is not meant the grave, but; some other place; because the bodies, so long as they lie there, are not capable of lifting up their eyes to see the glorious condition of the children of God, as the souls of the damned do. “In hell he lift up his eyes.” 3. It cannot be the grave; for then it must follow, that the soul was buried there with the body, which cannot stand with such a dead state as is here mentioned; for he saith, “The rich 1 man died;” that is, his soul was separated from his body; “and in hell he lift up his eyes.” If it be again objected, That there is no hell but in this life, that I do also deny; as I said before, after he was dead and buried, “in hell he lift up his eyes.” And let me tell thee, O soul, whoever thou art, that if thou close not in savingly with the Lord Jesus Christ, and lay hold on what he hath done, and is doing in his own person for sinners, thou wilt find such a hell after this life is ended, that thou wilt not get out of again forever and ever. And thou that art wanton, and dost make but a mock at the servants of the Lord, when they tell thee of the torments of hell, thou wilt find, that when thou departest out of this life, that hell, even the hell which is after this life, will meet thee in thy journey thither, and will, with its hellish crew, give thee such a sad salutation, that thou wilt not forget it to all eternity; when that scripture comes to be fulfilled on thy soul in Isaiah 14:9, 10, “Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” All they, that is, that are in hell, shall say, “Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?” Oh! sometimes when I have had but thoughts of going to hell, and consider the everlastingness of their ruin that fall in thither, it hath stirred me up rather to seek to the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver me from thence, than to slight it, and make a mock at it. “And in hell he lift up his eyes.” The second thing I told you was this, that all the ungodly that live and die in their sins, so soon as ever they depart this life, do descend into hell. This is also verified by the words in this parable, where Christ saith, “He died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes.” As the tree falls, so shall it lie, Ecclesiastes 11:3, whether it be to heaven or hell. And as Christ said to the thief on the cross, “This day shalt thou be with me in paradise;” even so the devil, in the like manner, may say unto the soul, “To-morrow shalt thou be with me in hell.” See then what a miserable case he that dies in an unregenerate state is in. He departs from a long sickness to a longer hell; from the gripings of death to the everlasting torments of hell. “And in hell he lift up his eyes.” Ah, friends! if you were but yourselves, you would have a care of your souls; if you did but 2 regard, you would see how mad they are that slight the salvation of their souls. O what will it profit thy soul to have pleasure in this life, and torment in hell! Mark 8:36. Thou hadst better part with all thy sins, and pleasures, and companions, or whatsoever thou delightest in, than to have soul and body cast into hell. Mark 9:43. O then do not neglect our Lord Jesus Christ, lest thou drop down to hell! Hebrews 2:3. Consider, would it not wound thee to thine heart, to come upon thy death-bed, and instead of having the comfort of a well-spent life, and the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ, together with the comfort of his glorious Spirit, to have, first, the sight of an ill-spent life, thy sins flying in thy face, thy conscience uttering itself with thunderclaps against thee, the thoughts of God terrifying thee, death, with his merciless paw, seizing upon thee, the devils standing ready to scramble for thy soul, and hell enlarging herself, and ready ‘to swallow thee up; and then an eternity of misery and torment attending upon thee, from which there will be no release. For, mark; death doth not come alone to an unconverted soul, but with such company as, wast thou but sensible of it, would make thee tremble. I pray consider that scripture: Revelation 6:8, “And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat upon him was Death, and hell followed with him.” Mark, death doth not come alone to the ungodly; no, but hell goeth with him. O miserable comforters! O miserable society! Here come death and hell unto thee. Death goeth into thy body, and separates body and soul asunder; hell stands without (as I may say) to embrace, or rather, to crush thy soul between its everlasting grinders. Then thy mirth, thy joy, thy sinful delights, will be ended when it comes to pass. Lo, it will come. Blessed are those that through Jesus Christ’s mercies, by faith, do escape these soul-murdering companions. “And in hell he lift up his eyes.” The third thing, you know, that we did observe from these words, was this, that some are so fast asleep, and secure in their sins, that they scarce know where they are, until they come into hell. And that I told you, I gather by these words, “In hell he lift up his eyes:” mark, it was in hell that he lift up his eyes. Now, some do understand by these words, that he came to himself, or began to consider himself, or to think with himself, in what a state he was, and what he was deprived of; which is still a confirmation of the 3 thing laid down by me. There it is that they come to themselves, that is, there they are sensible where they are indeed. Thus it fares with some men, that they scarce know where they are, till they lift up their eyes in hell. It is with these people as with those that fall down in a swoon. You know if a man fall down in a swoon in one room, though you take him up and carry him into another, yet he is not sensible where he is, till he comes to himself, and lifts up his eyes. Truly, thus, as it is to be feared, it is with many poor souls, they are so senseless, so hard, so seared in their conscience (1 Timothy 4:2), that they are very ignorant of their state; and when death comes, it strikes them, as it were, into a swoon (especially if they die suddenly), and so they are hurried away, and scarce know where they are, till in hell they lift up their eyes.
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